LiveWire Health and Nutrition

6 days ago

[PART 3] The End To The Dinner Time Circus...

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and so neither were our family mealtime dramas solved overnight.

There certainly was an adjustment period and while I couldn’t go cold turkey on the sausages (my fear of my son “failing to thrive” was still very real) but we started with one thing at a time which was family dinners on weekends.

Just sitting together at the table was a big deal.

We were also ALL eating THE SAME MEAL. This was huge. I was only cooking once for the first time in forever. I offered up a few of the favourites but also new foods, which had to be tried with “three polite bites”.

No one was allowed to say Yuck.

Not everything worked all the time but being consistent and being patient did work.

When the kids knew it was dinner time, they knew they had to try everything - they didn’t have to like it, but they did have to try it.

They didn’t have to finish what was on their plate, but there was no option B in the form of yoghurt or fruit.

If mealtime was dragging out too long, I gave a 5-minute warning. If they couldn’t finish in 5 minutes, they couldn’t have been too hungry.

Snacks were limited, not an all afternoon snack-a-thon, so they weren’t hungry for dinner.

We made changes in baby steps as we all adjusted. Not everything worked all the time, but being consistent meant the kids knew what to expect and a more relaxed approach from me went a long way.

The dinner time circus is now a thing of the past. The kids know that we sit at the table and eat as a family.

They know and like a huge variety of foods and are much happier to try new things.

They know that to learn, grow and be active and play all the sports they do, they need a variety of healthy food.

They know what types of foods make up a healthy meal.

Meltdowns are few are and between and usually a result of being hangry.

It’s been years since I’ve had a call from the school about disruptive behaviour.

I know my kids are eating a good variety of nutritious foods, so I’m not bothered if they have the odd bit of junk food.

They know what healthy eating is and more importantly, they know how it makes them feel.

No headaches, meltdowns or sore tummies.

I’m teaching them to know the difference in how food makes them feel, so they are equipped to make good choices, rather than banning crappy foods altogether.

As we head into the teenage years, I know there will be fast food, fries and Cokes and that’s ok (not really but kind of...)
but knowing they can recognise the difference between a normal healthy meal and something they just eat occasionally with their friends is the key.

And letting them choose.

I’m confident that as adults they will have the knowledge and foundations of being able to put together an easy balanced meal.

The routines and habits we’ve created good habits as a family will be with them for life.

Knowing the struggle we had at meal times, I knew we weren’t the only family to be experiencing this. The more families I met and the more clients I saw in clinic made me realise that parents need to know there is a better way.

That’s why I created the Healthy Families program, to give parents a guide to be able to give their kids the best start in life. bit.ly/2T7Oje7

Good health starts with good nutrition and it’s up to us as parents to be the role models and teach our kids that healthy food doesn’t come out of a packet and that meals are made from scratch.

Eating healthy food is normal.

Now, this may sound overwhelming.

Where do you start?

Of course, no-one has time to be cooking healthy meals.

And what even is a healthy meal?

This is where I’ve broken it down for you and kept it simple. I want to make your life easier, not add to the guilt or the to-do list.

In the Healthy Families program I’ve broken down the nutrition fundamentals for you, so you can make small positive changes one step at a time, not to make you feel like a failure if it doesn’t work overnight.

It’s flexible enough to work for every family, depending on your tastes and what you have in the fridge. No running off on a treasure hunt for crazy ingredients and complicated recipes.

You’ll learn what makes up a healthy meal so you can make your own, or if you’re stuck for inspiration use ours. I’m on your side, guiding you through giving your family the best start to life.

I don’t think there are many parents who can’t say they don’t want the best for their kids. We all want our kids to grow up to be happy and healthy. Then we’d like them to be a rocket scientist, but it’s always happy and healthy at the top of the list.

How do we do this?

We start them off by giving their growing bodies every chance and everything they need to thrive.

To be energetic, engaged learners who are curious about the world and about what foods they are eating.

We need to be role models for them and then our health flourishes too.

So there’s really nothing you’ve got to lose.

We all need to eat, so we may as well be fuelling those growing bodies with the right foods to give them the best start to life.

What are you waiting for?

Join us now and turn your family into a Healthy Family.
livewirenutrition.com.au/online-programs/healthy-families-program/
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